The Quality of Life and Professional Future among Tunisian Workers Suffering from Occupational Asthma

Abstract

Objective: To identify the factors influencing the quality of life and professional future of patients suffering from occupational asthma.

Method: A cross-sectional study of patients compensated for occupational asthma in Tunisian center during 2004-2011. The study of quality of life was based on the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaires (AQLQ). Some related patents were also discussed.

Results: One hundred twenty-nine patients were compensated and the mean age was 40.8 ± 7.6 years. The global score of quality of life was 3.65 ± 0.75. The group of employees having a "bad quality of life" included 82 patients (77.3%), 73 patients kept the same job (56.6%), 20.9% had an occupational reclassification, 13.9% were dismissed, 6.2% abandoned their job and 2.3% were put in disability. The analytical study of the quality of life showed that: - The global score was correlated with the fact of keeping the same job and the application of preventive measures. - The score in the "symptoms" area was correlated with working in the textile sector and the association with an occupational rhinitis. - The score in the "activity limitation" area was correlated with age. The analytical study of the professional future revealed that maintaining the same job was correlated with low rates of permanent partial disability.

Conclusion: Our study revealed the need to implement early preventive measures and to establish a systematic review of the permanent partial disability rate attributed to workers suffering from occupational asthma before the end of the legal period of five years.

Keywords: Occupational asthma; disability; epidemiology; professional future; quality of life; workers' compensation.